Rocky: All cultures have different genres of music sung in their language — from rock to pop and rap to country. Cajun French needs to adapt to what today’s youth is interested in if we want to see it continue for another generation.

Vinning: Tell me about your hometowns and what it was like growing up there.

Rocky: I grew up in Robinson Canal. It’s not even on the map. It was a nice, quiet place, but we eventually moved to Houma after Hurricane Rita because of flooding due to a lack of wetlands protection. As the wetlands continue to die due to neglect, so too does our culture. Flooding causes communities to fall apart because they’re basically forced to move from their homes, lest they wish to see the same disaster happen again and when the community falls apart, so does its culture.

Brian: I grew up in Thibodaux. It was a good place to grow up because of the wonderful people and unique culture.

Vinning: How did each of you get your start in the music business?

Rocky and Brian: We don’t really consider it a music business because we play for the enjoyment — not for the money. We do it because we wish to bring Cajun French to the masses.

Rocky: I tend not to choose favorites. There are many more issues and causes to worry about such as our coast and our culture.

Brian: My favorite color is green.

Vinning: What bands/musicians influenced you growing up? Who inspires you now?

Rocky: I grew up listening to my parents’ music: Led Zepplin, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Twisted Sister, Boston, etc. At the moment, I listen to anything and everything, but I try to steer clear of artists who use profanity as a linguistic crutch. I enjoy artists who use words that have more than four letters.

Brian: I grew up listening to classic rock, blues and New Orleans music such as the Meters and Dr. John, but now I listen to everything from Les Frères Balfa to Clutch.

Vinning: What is the very first concert you ever attended? Do you still listen to them today?

Rocky: My very first concert was the local band Fuel. I’d like to listen to them today, but someone stole my CD case in high school.

Brian: My first concert was ZZ Top in 1991 at the UNO Lakefront Arena. I still listen to them from time to time.

Vinning: How long have y’all been Mellowberry?

Rocky and Brian: We started jamming together in August.

Vinning: Do y’all have families and/or day jobs and if so, how do you balance them with music without neglecting one or more?

Rocky: I teach Cajun French at the Terrebonne Folklife Culture Center on Thursday nights, and I work at the Chauvin Sculpture Garden on the weekends. I have plenty of free time simply because I’m not working for corporate America.

Brian: I’m the chef at Café Milano and I find time to jam twice a week after work.

Vinning: What are your favorite local venues to play? Why?

Rocky and Brian: We’ve only played at Good Times Tavern so far, but we’re looking to book at different venues.

Vinning: Where can fans catch up to Mellowberry in the near future?

Rocky and Brian: We’re scheduled to play at the French in Louisiana event on March 27 at Nicholls State University.

Vinning: I’m reading directly from your recent news release, “Mellowberry is changing the face of Cajun music as we know it!” I’m sure everyone is as anxious as I am to know how you two plan to accomplish such a task; care to explain?

Rocky: Mellowberry is changing the face of Cajun music because music is dynamic. Music is constantly changing. We cannot allow our culture to become stagnant by playing up clichés for the tourism industry.

Joseph Goebbels once said, “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” I believe this is what’s happening to our language. After decades of being told that local French isn’t valuable to Louisiana’s economy or that it isn’t “marketable,” people have begun to believe it. On the music side, people have come to believe the lie that Cajun music is only traditional Cajun music, when in fact, there have been quite a few non-traditional Cajun songs recorded throughout our history.

Brian: Cajun rock is just another step in the evolution of Cajun music because rock and blues are just as much a part of our Louisiana heritage as traditional Cajun music.

Vinning: Do y’all have any recordings out there that we should know about?

Rocky and Brian: Currently, all we have are the live recordings on our Web site and the music on MySpace, but we’re looking to record a demo.

Vinning: What is Santa bringing you for Christmas this year? What New Year’s resolutions lie at the very top of your list for 2009?

Rocky: I don’t believe in Santa, and I don’t make New Year’s resolutions because they’re always just promises that I can’t keep.

Brian: Hopefully, Santa will bring me some Bourgeois’ beef jerky.

Vinning: A man after my own belly Brian. Tell me, what does the future hold for Mellowberry?

Rocky and Brian: We’re currently in negotiations with the Congrès Mondial Acadien 2009 to perform in the Acadian Peninsula in August during the Grand Rassemblement Jeunesse. It’s a huge gathering of Acadians and Acadian descendants from all around the world where there are family reunions and tons of activities. Louisiana is currently working on the bid to get the Congrès Mondial Acadien in Louisiana in 2014. Keep your fingers crossed.

Vinning: Indeed I will. How can fans learn more about Mellowberry? Are y’all online?

Rocky and Brian: They can visit our Web site at www.mellowberry.com, they can visit our MySpace profile at www.myspace.com/mellowberrymusic, or they can find us on Facebook by searching for Mellowberry.

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